Well then.

That rather lengthy email sent to the general manager turned into chaos.  

But I expected it.  Again, I have numerous job offers, to get fired from my current employer would not mean sent to the welfare services or the unemployment line.  I had to have that to back me up before going down this road.  The assurace in my mind that if they were to play the firing card, I would be able to smile, speak my mind and get up and walk away from it without fretting. Pick it right up where I left off, get into a truck and drive - and make a helluva lot more money.  The reason I have continued to work for less money on a local basis is simply because of the element of being able to go home, each and every day, sleep in my own bed, have my own rather larger bedroom with private bathrooom.

There is value in that and it can and in my case, does account for lower pay.  I wasn't broke, wasn't rich, just somewhere in the middle.  

I saw my new manager this morning and he was just staring at me.  Driving back in the yard he was out there again, staring. Glaring? I don't know.  I thought he had been informed of my email and that was his retribution.  They guy is a piecce of work.  Well, anyway, I went on another run at noon - it was time to go home according to my 40 hour work week.  A freight truck had come into the yard, however and had material that a contractor needed "right now" and I was the only driver there, the other two were on the road.  I wanted to go home.  To hell with this company's 40 hour stringency, I'll give it to them. Take off when I hit 40 hours and had that one nailed.  

I get out on that run and the other driver is texting me that the GM called him. WTH. I start all this stuff and this GM is contacting everyone but me.  I get it though.  He's trying to verify my story.  Was I accurately and truthfully retelling it or was I making up a bunch of hot air and selling it off with an odor of hogwash?  Still, was he going to call me at all?  He said he would.  Well, I got that text from the other driver while driving home - I got off later than I should have but I still left early, in fact, right now it's time for everyone to go home over there - and then I got the call from the GM.I recognized the area code and got myself instantly in to the right mind frame.  

It was a 50 minute phone call.  I spoke my mind - quite freely I might add, I'm on my way out in my thinking though I didn't tell him that. I didn't tell him that because I wondered if there was any glimmer of hope here? Would he tell me that he sides with the manager or would he tell me his actions were horrid and needed to be corrected? I don't like burning the bridges unless it is totally warrannted.  I was treated pretty well in Phoenix - same company different mindset so why pour fuel on this and throw the match?  The latter ended up being true. He emphatically stated that that was absolutley not way that he wants employees to be treated.  

But we went back and forth on both issues: the manager and pay.  I was brought out here with the promise of 50 hours.  I was quite sure on this one.  I asked numerous times.  I wanted it a settled deal.  But, in typical managerial style, they said no, that isn't what happened. Oh, YES, it is how it happened.  You think I'm going to kill myself by coming out here and not know every detail, especially pay?  I knew where he was going to go with it: slow time of year. You'll get more hours at other times of the year. Great, but what about now? Pay?  Forget the hours, let's talk about pay?  Too much detail to go into, but he said well what about when we get busy? And you're making that kind of pay?  I can't justify that to the company.  Now that I'm thinking about it and not in a very intense, back and forth conversation, so what? It would make up for these times of the year when the contracts slow down and incoming money slows down with it.  He was talking about a balancing act I just didn't think about that portion of it.

You can talk a lot of words in 50 minutes. And we did.  This dude seems to have his head on straight.  But when it comes to pay, he talks the coroporate jargon and I talk the pay jargon. The 2 clash.  I kept going back to my pay in Phoenix, who cares about OT?  I didn't even think about OT when I started with that company, I thought: PAY. How much am I going to get PAID?  He then tried to tell me that the market in Louisiana only pays the amount I am getting paid.  I replied that I have talked with a large number of local drivers coming into our yard. Southeastern starts out experienced drivers at anywhere between 20 and 24 bucks and hour.  I've talked to other drivers making anywhere between 18.50 to 27.

I then told him I could easily go out and find a job paying 60k per year.  I would be out on the road all the time, but I would be making good money.  Not only did not try to argue with that, he knows all about it because they have trouble getting and keeping drivers at other locations in that state. Exactly, who wants to work for peanuts?  But isn't there value in being able to go home every day? he asks.  Yes, there is, but at the same time I need to be able to pay my bills and beyond that.  My life isn't just about going to work and then coming home and then spending weekends waiting to go to work on Monday morning.....

Well, he told me that letter I wrote him kept him awake last night, but immediately conceded that I probably haven't been sleeping to well, either. Umm, yeah?  Seriously.  This conversation ended with him telling me that he would run the numbers past corporate once again and try to do something and asked if I could speak with the manager alone or would he have to be there?  See, this is where this situation has failed.  This new manager thinks he can do or say anything he wants because there isn't anyone else there to hold him accountable.  The workers under him are afraid to say anything. I'm the rogue wave in that mix, I refuse to be treated like s*** by an etotistical, self-centered, self-absorbed person who also has the title of manager.  I'll quit before I just  sit around and tolerate that kind of abuse.  I simply told the gm that yes, I can talk to him but....it's a two way street.  He understood that immediately and said the new manager was his next phone call and that he hadn't shared with the new manager or anyone else for that matter the email I had sent him and also promised that he would ensure - I didn't ask for this but I'm glad he offered it - that the new manager would not be allowed to take some kind of "revenge" on me by using his position in an unprofessional manner to retaliate. He also offered that he, too, has an open door policy and I can pick up the phone and call him at any time.

Well that's a first.  From the way everyone talks at the branch, you have to go through your manager to talk to the gm.  Which is a load of bs, expecially in this situation with an egomaniac running a branch that wants everyone to fear him and bow down and worship.  You think I"m exaggerating.  If I could only have gotten a video of him when he went off into his tirade on Monday morning.

It's now the weekend, I started this entry yesterday but got caught up in applying for more jobs - the job search hasn't ended and likely won't.  I have no faith that the gm is actually going to give me any kind of raise, much less a substantial one.  I could probably exist off the current pay if I did nothing but go to work and buy groceries and pay already existent bills.

This is going to be an on-going dilemmma until I have it resolved one way or another.  

Saw my paycheck under the new "regime" and decide to fire off a final appeal to the general manaager.  You can't see him in person - unless you want to drive 4 plus hours to get there and it simply isn't worth that kind of a drive to get a no answer.  

But, I wasn't going to leave this company without caling out the new manager and his foul behavior, especially what happened Monday morning AND having a contractor who has nothing to do with the situation seeing it and making comments about the man's demeanor.  So, I wrote the GM a letter on the company mail system. First, my pay.  I could probably deal with this lame manager if my pay was good, but I certainly am not going to tolerate his garbage at substandard wages.  I brought up the fact that my pay is now the same as an entry level truck driver who has no experience and is fresh out of driving school.

That is no exaggeration, either, that is exactly what my pay has been scaled back to.  Somehow, overnight, my work is wortth a thousand dollars less per month than it was the month before?  lol There are numerous reasons I don't like OTR driving, one of them is that you have force yourself to get exercise, for you aren't getting any just sitting there behind the wheel 10 hours a day.  At a work environment such as what I am at now, I get all kinds of exercise whether I want to or not, it's an aspect I actually like about the job.  The second of course is not going home to your own bed every night, but I can deal with that.  Other things. Time management becomes a big issue.  You have to figure out a "rhythm" so to speak and get into the flow of it.  It takes a while to figure that out.  I've been out of the OTR stuff for so long it would be like startinga ll over again.  

Though, there are plenty of trucking boards online that I intend on visiting if/when I pull the trigger, which I suspect will occur quickly now that I have written that letter.  After writing that message I didn't expect to actually even hear back from the man, but I just accessed my company email account and found a message.  He said he would call me tomorrow - which is today - and we could discuss it for he didnt wan to "frustrate" me, he said, with email that might be misinterpreted.  

Whatecver the case, I must be off to work.  Today should be interesting, for I am guessing my email will be forwarded to the new manager.  

This new manager stated at the first meeting that he was likely going to be spending the rest of his career - another 6 or 7 years he declared - as manager of the branch.
There is one thing that I can testify as quite certain: at the money I am making, I will not be working for this individual for the rest of my career. The only thing that would make me want to stick around is decent money and without my newly eliminated OT hours?  It is a done deal. I am going to take whatever the best offer I can get that includes me taking my dog with me.  It is a sticking point for me but for me, it's worth it.  I will have a companion with me that has grown to be very much like a Great Dane: following me everywhere I go, wanting to be with me alllllll the time. Leaving him here - my landlords graciously offered to take care of him if it comes to that - would really be very disheartening for me and I just don't feel I could deal with it.  Money isn't everything.

I was at a jobsite today up north and the contractor started right in on the man.  What was up his @$$ the other day? I heard him calling you guys childish and basically stating you are all a bunch of idiots?  What? You heard all of that?  I didn't even know he had been standing behind us.  I was too busy attempting to quelch my internal desire to tell him where he can shove his bs.  Yup, he said, I heard all of it.

I actually have a person as a witness to this "manager's" crap that has no personal involvement at all with this and  I didn't start that conversation, he brought it right up.  I wasn't shocked by his assessment of that man and I felt at least justified in my decision to vacate my position at that company and find greener - and more peaceful - pastures somewhere else.  Now, I can't say that I will love my next job.  I am doing some research on both companies in contention but in the end, you never know until you are working for them and see how you are treated.

Regardless, I received a text message out of the blue from a recuiter for yet another company.  I put my name and info on a site that farms it out to - all kinds - of companies.  They just forward it everywhere. I knew that before I signed up for it.  I've received text messages, phone calls and emails from just about every major trucking company in North America and also from some lessor known ones, including the company that texted me this morning.  My first question: Do you have a pet policy? That's what they call them - learned that in just the first hours of my first searching for a new job.  Yes, tell me about your dog.  Well, he's big, lol.  He's fully house-trained, he's non-destructive and he's definitely not vicious nor would be considered a vicious breed.

How big?  Yeah, he's 130 pounds now, lol.  Funny how a dog that big can roll up into a ball that small yet stretch out entirely and take up an entire bed!  These trucks come with bunk beds. He would have his own bed to sleep on.  The dude says that's fine.  Second question: what's the starting pay?  40 cents per mile.  What's the average mileage per week? Around 3,000. Okay, money's good.  Even if the miles aren't that much, I'm good.  I have a disadvantage that I didn't understand I would have going into this: most of these company do not accept local driving as acceptable.  You have to go out with a trainer for anywhere from 50 hours to 4 weeks to get "certified" to drive with them. They pay during that time equals out to minimum wage.

I'm in a learning curve here.  I had no idea how much the trucking industry had internally changed.  I knew how much the regulations have changed affecting all drivers, I keep up on that but I had no interest until this management change at work to keep up with what trucking companies want and the rules they are playing by.  Today's call was a much better looking company than many of them that I have been looking at.  They have a home every weekend option.  I don't know if that materially affects your pay, though. I want at least a grand a week to start.  We won't get into the conversation until Monday.  That's when the recuiter said he would be back and would give me a call.  I am getting my memory back on OTR driving - what is good, what is not and what questions definitely need to be answered.

I'm still looking local and will still look local even if I have to get on the road.  My main objection at work is the pay reduction.  If that hadn't happened, I would be struggling working for this dude but I would probably maintain myself and just go with the flow.  I've been exposed to dictator type managers before, but they at least had some sense of giving their workers the idea that they are valued by the company and an occasional good job. But, this dude here? Has everyone on edge.  He maintains an atmosphere of rigidity and likes to keep everyone on edge, in fear and in question of their jobs, actually.  He can't just go firing everyone.  But, I'm sure he could fire one or two and get away with it and right now, they are going to bring back the driver that was fired for haivng THC in his system. For me, that gives him the option of getting rid of me and no matter how much I have tried, he obviously doesn't like me.

At this point, I don't try and I don't care.  I don't say hi to him anymore, I have given up on it.  I remain respectful outwardly even though he absolutely doesn't deserve my respect.  I am only doing that because a gap in work history is not good for your job record.  I truly wish I could find something else to do with my life but short of going to school and going broke while doing it, or perhaps some divine intervention and an opportunity out of the blue - I never discount that possibility - I either have to do what I know what makes money or - go broke and live under a tree.  Hey, I have a trailer up on my mom's property in northern Arizona! lol I actually considered that.  Trucking companies don't CARE where you live, take the truck home with you!  Drop the trailer down the road, drive the tractor up there, walaah.  Pay her some rent to make her happy and upkeep the property and there you go. Live up in the beautiful mountains in cooler temps.  Cept' that trailer.  I like it but to live in it?  I could do it I guess just need a few upgrades.

I pretty much go through all the rabbit trails when I am faced with whatever.

Right now my rabbit trrails are truck parking. I have read about it for years.  I figured out that OTR drivers may happen to find palces off the beaten path - but not too far off the main trail - that you won't just happen to find.  They are right off the Interstate usually but you would never they are there unless you knew the area.  I could name 30 places at least in Louisiana off of I-20 and I-49 that OTR drivers wouldn't know about unless - they talked to a local or just happened to get off that exit.  It's a market that needs filled.  I have ideas.  I looked at a few that listed their truck stops for Louisiana and included none of the ones I know about that aren't brand name truck stops.

I'm going to test it out by posting some stops on this blog with an appropriate title and see how many hits it gets.

Anyway, bedtime.

Not much time to write an entry but figured to get this little gem in here.  Showed up for work yesterday at 7am, so did the other driver. The other driver was supposed to show up at 8, so I asked him why he was there.  Bewildered look on his face - but he's a good actor.  He knew he was supposed to show at 8, he's tryig to push the issue that he should be able to come in early and leave early.......okay, whatever.

Anyway, shortly after, the manager shows up, sees both of us there and flips out.  Literally loses it.  Why are you both here? The other driver  started trying to explain away ...... this isn't that hard. Even children could get this.  You are acting childess - addressing both of us - how difficult is this? This isn't that hard - he went on and on and on, angry, belittling us and speaking in harsh tones.

I forced myself to keep my mouth shut, for I wanted to tell him where to stick it and just quit, right there and go home.  If I make it til' next month I"ll have about 90 hours of vacation time and I will get paid for those hours at regular time but still, it's like a whole nother paycheck.  Which will help when I quit.

But, the plain simple truth of the matter is: this dude is not management material. I was afraid of that before they promoted him and I spoke my mind about it to upper management.  So did numerous other people.  He may know the nuts and bolts of the workings of the branch, but he has no knowledge of how to effectively communicate with people, he doesn't care about the people working for him and he is a ticking time bomb.  He will lose it sooner or later and by that, I mean, lose it to the point of going back to his old ways of threatening people - with violence.

And the reality of it is, he just implement this new "policy" of his.  It's not like we've been doing this for 6 months and we should know and have it down.  To lost it like that over something so petty only points to his inaability to keep his emotions in check.  Now, if I were getting paid $25 per hour I wouldn't care, just put up with it and la deee dahhh.  But I am not and the money ain't talking to me at all.

I stopped applying for a day or so just to take a break from it.  I've had several job offers but so far, none of them will allow a dog the size of Addler in the truck.  60 pounds or less, 50 pounds or less, 40 pounds or less.  But - I take that back - I was speaking with Navajo yesterday and I forgot to ask them but I believe they do allow any sized dog and I was also talking with US Express and they also allow any sized dog.  I believe I have an actual offer with Navajo, US Express said they were waiting for various reports they had filed to come back on my record.

Anyway, off to work.

Endless phone interviews.  Fill out one application after another.  Found some sites that show the companies that allow dogs and what size dog.  Many of them won't even think about allowing a dog the size of Addler, but I have found a number of them that have no size restrictions.  I am busily applying at all of them - while at the same time looking for local employment and applying for whatever places I can find - which aren't that many of them.

The alleged truth came out today as to why they suddenly decided that hour cuts were the daily platter.  The temporary driver was saying he was doing 60 hours per week on his time sheets - which is a bald faced lie - and corporate got a hold of that and began questioning the general manager about hours and why are they allowing over 40?  So, allegedly, the company is saying no, no more OT. I don't doubt corporate gets on their case about OT - but - they were getting on the old manager's case the entire time I was working there and he managed to get around it.  It is highly more likely, after hearing some of the new manager's speech, that the new manager simply doesn't believe drivers should be getting paid as much as we "were" and is using this as an excuse for his agenda.

AND...if they were all-so-fired concerned about our pay, they could easily raise it if they wanted to.  There are no rules against that.  The statement now is that they are going to "see what kinds of numbers our branch produces" before they will do that.  Bunk.  It's all just games.  Dangle the proverbial carrot endlessly and see how long they will fall for it.  They already KNOW how much we produce and how much that branch produces on average.  I refuse to work for a company that will just come along and just take that kind of money away from you and give unbelievably lame, pathetic reasons as to why.  I have quit 2 jobs in the past because of it - one place I was working at for 11 years when they came along and cut our pay in half.  A Chinese company had acquired the company I was working for.  It was such a slap in the face, I quit immediately before having another job lined up.  No regrets on that one.  The other was JB Hunt, when senior management showed up at the morning meeting before drivers were sent out and told us we would be having our pay cut full four hundred dollars per WEEK. I was out of there in about 2 weeks - I did find a job before I quit and no, I did not give any advance notice.  They didn't  give ME notice about cutting my wages, they could go stick it.  One of the times that a company shafts it's employees where the company lost BIG time.  Most of the drivers quit, the company lost the contract and ended up losing millions of dollars because of it.

I will keep up this job application pace until I find something.  I've sent out at least 50 applications so far.  I could probably handle OTR on a home every 2 week basis if I had Addler with me in the truck. If not, I just don't think I could handle it.  A dog companion is better than none - especially when spending countless hours inside of a truck.  And, I would consider an OTR job a temporary thing until I eventually found/find a good local job.  The nuances of taking a dog on extended trip is something I would have to research as well, though I have a close friend that did it for decades.  I'm sure he would have some advice to give me on that one. I think he stayed at hotels a lot - something I wouldn't want to get into too much, no point in making money and then handing it out to a hotel chain.

So that's where I'm at.  Just got done with 3 applications and taking a break from it.  It got easier to do after Chrome decided to show a pop up saying all or most of this information has been saved, would you like Chrome to auto fill it?  Oh yes, yes I would!  Of course I review the information it's putting on there, it only fills the information that it has seen as a field to be entered on the form before. Still, saves so much time.  Trucking companies are desperate to fill tractors, that's a fact.  I had a dozen phone calls today and didn't answer several more. Not to mention a cache full of emails and text messages.

The weekend is here, I was sent home 3 hours early.  Which I expected. Came straight home, sat down and started looking for jobs and filling out applications.  I won't do this all weekend long, I will get annoyed with it but I expect to find at least 15 places to apply for this weekend.  But, I will also work around the yard if the weather lets up and probably finish working on the 4 wheelers, at least what I can do until I order the rest of the things I need for them.  Kinda put that on hold - I don't see any good reason to spend money I may need if I don't land a good paying job soon enough.

As the abusrdity of this new schedule sinks in, it only motivates me more and more to send out numerous applications per day.
I found a large list of companies that allow dogs in the truck if it's going to be a regional thing - even regional has you out 2 weeks at a time and I won't do that to my doggy.  Or try not to, anyway.

They are apparently hiring back the driver that was fired for having THC (marijuana) in his system, which is not a good sign for me.  I could be reading it all wrong, who knows, but I don't have any reassurance from this company that my emlpoyment with them is going to go on for as long as I want it to.  The fact that I am facing losing around 13k per year, the new manager being a douche, a forced hour long lunch break - I don't want to take it but they want the convenience of having me around that extra hour per day in case something comes up, how nice for them - all instantly added up to filling out endless applications.

One place, Roehl, called and said they would process my application.  Several others have emailed back after filling out online applications saying they are processing it as well.

I haven't done the actual numbers, but I probably could live off of what I am now making.  But for me to take that kind of demotino in pay for no other reason than their claim that the company only wants drivers working 40 hours - which has been true the entire time I've been out here but they brought me out here at 50 hours anyway - is total bs.  They can get around it - they even admit to it -if they want to.  It's just this new manager.  Reducing another worker's pay by $1.50 per hour.  Forcing the 2 full time drivers to 40 hours and the temp driver to whatever hours they want to give him.

So, the search goes on.  It is my lunch break but I have put in 2 apps during the break already.

Anyway, I left work property so they can't try to get me to do something when I am not getting paid for it.  Time to head back.

One thing is for sure: my company operating over here in Louisiana does not operate the same as my company in Phoenix.  My old general manager took great interest in his employees and made sure that if you were taking care of him, he would take care of you and in my case, he definitely did.

But here?  They don't even care.  You can work your ass off all day long and in the end, it makes no difference at all.  In fact, I was levelled with that information today.

I was informed at the end of the day that I was going to be reduced to 40 hour work weeks, per corporate. I would be required to take a 1 hour lunch break (I don't do lunch breaks, I usually eat while I am driving).  I would not be getting the pay raise - I had to ask again about that for the ... tenth? ... time.  I minced no words in return: I cannot afford a thousand dollar per month pay cut and I will have do what I need to do to take care of myself. That is the jist of the conversastion. They don't give a damn about hard work, they want to reduce me to the pay that a beginner truck driver recieves and that was the final straw.

I will lose the benefits I have spent 10 years in acquiring and now? That isn't going to matter.  My life is basically screwed up right now.  I am not a 20 something that can just switch jobs and think nothing of it.  I'm 52 years old, but being treated like this is total BS.  It's not just me.  But, it's the new manager.  He could care less and I could care less about him. The smirk on his face today caused carnal impulses to arise within me.  He demanded I give him 2 weeks notice if I find a new job.  Yup.  Yes, I'll give you notice, I replied.  Yup, he'll get a notice on the last day of my employment: BTW, here's my notice: goodbye.

I hate looking for jobs. I was doing it a while back but I quit. There were a couple of jobs available that I found, but it would mean sacrificing my ability to be home every night, though weekends were still free.  The pay was 20k more than I am making now without hour cuts.

I'm not going to get in a hurry to find the wrong job, but yes, I am going to spend ample amounts of time looking around and searching on the net until I find my new employer.  It sucks, it totally sucks, but I can't deal with this.  Pauper wages for experience.  The other driver already said he's quitting, already has a job lined up and is going to spite them.  Whether he actually does that or not remains to be seen.  I don't like burning bridges, but when the time comes?  I may just blow this bridge up.  This is simply no way to treat employees that have busted their asses.  We already talked - the other drive and I - about taking our sweeeeeeet old time about getting deliveries done. Just like the temporary driver who is in no hurry to get anything done.
_______________________________________

It is now Tuesday evening, watching the primary coverage.  I was forced to take a one hour lunch break, so I went to Waffle House, ordered a burger and then sat there the entire house filling out applications.  I can't work for this new manager.  He has no concern for the people that work for him, he could literally care less.  A 20 year work was told today he was going to have to take a pay reduction of $1.50 per hour.  A 20 year worker.  How do you treat a person like that?  That has been loyal to the company that long?

I am highly motivated now to find a new job.  No, I don't want to lose my yearly vacation hours over the last 10 years that will go up even more in less than 2 years from now - but I cannot work for this man.  He is an AS*****, obnoxious, conceited, cares nothing about his workers - and I do mean cares NOTHING about his workers.  He has head knowledge of the business, he has no knowledge of how to treat the blue collar workers and life is far too short to work for a d***.  I applied today for 2 local jobs I  found after going through myriads of OTR jobs and I am continuing my search after finishing this entry.

If/when I get a job offer I like, I am going to go over his head and write the general manager a final plea.  I'll work for him for enough money, yes.  But if I leave and the other 2 guys leave, they are screwed and I mean literally screwed.  They will have a warehouse manager that has no extra spare time to pull orders and they will have a temporary driver that knows nothing about the product and doesn't want to learn about the product.  Which reminds me, he was fired from Halliburton and I want to apply there as well. He was fired for failing 2 drug screenings - that's on him.

I am just irritated with this new manager. I thought this going to turn into a bad deal from the first announcement of this situation - and now it has come to pass.  Not just for me, either.  But it's whatever now.  I am hot on the trails of jobs posted and I will relentlessly pump out applications until I land something worth my time and energy.  I will hold out hope for a local job until - that passes and nothing happens because of it and switch to regional searching.  Though, who knows, regional positions pop up regardless of what kind of search I am putting in there.

Well, this one is about to be a wrap.  A final day with mom - probably not doing much of anything which is fine by me and then off to the airport around 8:30 pm to take off at 10:45 and arrive in Dallas at 1:55 am.  Foregone conclusion I'm not going to want to drive home at 2:30 am by the time I get my luggage and take the shuttle back to my car at the hotel, so I am going to look for a reduced rate for a hotel on Priceline and Expedia online in a few.  Next trip will be done quite differently.  The hotel the car is at is a nice one, actually,but now that I have incurred unexpected expenses on this trip, I want to keep the price down.  A comfortable bed is all I need and the cheap chains are good enough.

So I figure 3 am before i even get to a hotel, gag.  Really have to slap myself for  the way I did this trip, but then again, there were very few cheap fares left by the time I got "around to it" and that is partly why I chose the late return.  The other returns earlier in the day were much more expensive.  I'll plan the next trip well in advance and get flights that are in the daytime and still get discounted rates.

Well I did it. I got a deal for La Quinta on priceline.  I'm not sure I have ever stayed at one, but I do know that my Great Dane would be welcomed there so I can try it out and see if it's a nice place to stay.  Supposedly they are fairly nice places.  I will try to sleep until around 9 am and then get up and drive home - in the daylight, thank you. The trip to Dallas was at night time and it was raining and the winds were blowing heavily.  Even the taxi driver was commenting on the wind in Dallas and it pushing his taxi around.

So that's it. Doing some laundry, we are going to go to the dollar store - they sell reading glasses here for a buck that you can only find for 10 bucks over there.  I buy as many of them as they have in the magnification that works for me. Last time it was like 8 pairs.  Ummm, but this time I''m getting a case to hold a pair in, they tend to get messed up easily without it.  9 hours from now, a shuttle will arrive at my mom's doorstep, pick me up and take me to the airport.  I'm kinda looking forward to getting back home and seeing my doggy, to be honest.  My agenda here has been accomplished.

As my time here comes to an end, I can say it was well worth the junk I went through to get here.
I must admit that I made a colossal error which cost me pretty good.  I don't know what happened when I ordered those tickets, but I thought I had ordered Southwest airlines.  So I drove to a hotel 2 miles from there, parked the car there for a cheap rate and took their shuttle to the airport.  Only then did I find out that I had not actually paid for flying with Southwest - which gives 2 checked bags for free - I had American Airlines.

I mean, the agent couldn't find my name in the system and asked to see the paperwork I had.  Umm, sir ... pointing at what the paper says. I felt like an utter fool.  I spent $50 on a taxi to get me from DAL to DFW.  I also had to pay a $25 fee for my luggage and will have to pay that on the way back.  I learn from my mistakes.  I have made several trips back and forth now since this all started, havne't made this kind of error at all.  The only consolation I have now is that I found a shuttle that will take me from DFW to the hotel for $10.  I can deal with that.

I really kind of screwed this trip up as far as travel goes.  Going to work, driving home, driving to Dallas, flying to Phoenix, shuttle to mom's, not going to bed until almost 2 am and feeling groggy all the first day I was here.  And going back.  I won't be back in Dallas until very late and considering it will be Sunday and I will have ot go to work the next day?  I don't want to drive 2-1/2 and get home at 3:30 or 4 am.  So now, I am faced with another expense on this trip for getting a hotel.

However.  I can't complain about my time here.  Mom has been  a splendid host.  My presence here has disrupted her daily lifestyle but she is happy that i came.  We spent Wednesday just hanging out and talking.  Thursday I went and got Caleb and brought him out here and he spent the night. Catching up on stuff and he has taken an interest in politics so we discussed that quite a bit while watching the news updates on all of the candidates.  Mom took us to a BBQ house called Famous Daves - it's a local delight, they have some of the best BBQ anywhere.

We all got up today and just hung out.  I took him home at noon - he is leaving on Tuesday and his friends are all asking him to visit - I was glad to have some time with him and so was mom.  She hadn't seen him in quite a while, either.  I then went back to my house and Mark was there. Oh, I went yesterday but he wasn't there, Sophie, my former dog. She stood there staring at me for a while and then apparently recognized who i am and came up to me and I petted her for a bit.  Today, though, I found Mark over there and I spent a couple of hours talking with him.  After that, off to an old friend's house, visited with him for a couple of hours and then back home.

My goals for this trip have been fulfilled, whatever happens tomorrow is fine and dandy, but I have made my visit and going home is in order.  I am not ashamed to say that I miss my doggy.  I don' think about him all day long or anything, but I know he's missing me and we have started to bond.  I will be more than a bit curious to see what his reaction will be when I finally get home on Sunday.

Anyway, tomorrow I will look on Priceline and others and find something in the lower price range for a hotel that is still decent enough to get a good night's sleep and book it online.

Well that's it.  It's Friday night and it's after 11:00 pm, late enough for  me.

Going to be a long day.
Go to work, a 2-1/2 drive to a jobsite and then that much time back.
That will eat up most of the work day whic is fine.  I would like to leave by 4 if at all possible today...
because....I will still have a lot to get done.  Drive home, finish what I couldn't finish until just before leaving - moving stuff into a room out of Addller's ability to get at it, say goodbye to the giant pup and then drive to Dallas, fly to Phoenix, shuttle to mom's.

Around 2 am, I believe.  Sleep on the airplane or try anyway, it will be night time won't be able to see anything out the windows.

I'm not sure I'm up for this challenge, just not sleeping to well lately but I'm sure there are Starbucks along the way, just gonna have to drink a few strong coffees.

Whatever the case, I'm happy for an opportunity to get back and visit my son just before he leaves for New Zealand!

Gotta git to work.

Hmm. I guess I forgot to hit "send" on the airport parking and never completed the transaction.  I still found a very good deal on parking at a hotel 2 miles away and it has a free shuttle.  There isn't really anything cheap about having to fly out of this area.  You either drive 2-1/2 hours for a cheap price or you pay through the nose to fly out of a local airport.

I'll drive the 2-1/2 hours, thank you and save the $350 plus dollars.  I would have had to pay for airport parking regardless, though if it were the next city over airport landlords likely would have given me a ride.  No ill feel there.  No onto attempting to finally get this shuttle business from PHX to mom's house settled.  You know, it takes a while to find the best deals sometimes. Not always, but a lot of times you realy have to spend a bit of time perusing numerous websites before the "magic" occurs and you find the deal.

My goal was to take a free hotel shuttle to a destination near mom's house, but I am arriving late and I doubt free shuttles will be going that late.  I have some friends I could call for a ride but it's too late to impose on them like that.  So, I'll pay the shuttle fee for round trip - which that particular airport shuttle runs 24 hours a day - and likely I will stay at a hotel anyway for I am really not interested in keeping mom awake til' 1 am for my arrival.  I can stay at a cheap motel near her house, call her for a ride and that will just have to work.

Flying out of Dallas, airport parking fee and shuttle fee I'm at $210.  Add $30 of gas for the drive.  Add $45 for cheap hotel and I'm at $285.  All of that combined is still $200 cheaper than flying out of any airport near hear and I still would have encurred airport parking, shuttle in phoenix and hotel stay if I opt for that.

I'm still a bit peeved about Nathan and his decision to cut off the exhaust muffler and also rolling that 4 wheeler.  The exhuast muffler is going to cost some money to replace,It's noisy and I want it fixed.  I would put on a used muffler if I could find one and save some money.  I haven't tried raising the handlebars back up yet.  Other than those 2 things, though, that 4 wheeler is still in good condition and runs great.  The other one I have ordered the parts for  I replaced some of them but other parts still in transit.  Nothing expensive. U joints, brakes, tie rod ends and a few other minor things.  I just know that if you let things go, more things go wrong because of letting things go.  It's far cheaper to just fix it as soon as things happen.

A Motel 6 for $60.  Gag.  Oops. Mama just told me different, lol.  She has no plans to stay awake but will leave the light and door open (which I think is dangerous for her but she is being stubborn, I won't arrive there until around 2 am).  so I will save the hotel money and take the shuttle directly to her house.  Which is better, actually, for me because going back, when I arrive in Dallas at an ungodly hour, I undoubtedly am not going to want to drive home.  I will spend the motel money then instead.  In fact, I will likely do a priceline or similar when I am at her place and see if I can find a good deal on a decent or even good hotel and treat myself.  I am a fan of Marriots and there is one near DAL.  But, I don't have to have a Marriot, lol, just if the price were right.  Weekends are always more expensive.  Just one of those things, though, at that late of an hour I would rahter have it already booked and an address to drive to from the airport instead of trying to look around.

So yeah I'm getting excited about this trip.  I am going to visit an old friend - old as in high school buddy from the late 70's to early 80's.  He ended up in prison at one point but he has completely changed his life, is happily married and was a good friend then and still is now.  No, I'm not going to judge him for his life choices, we all make mistakes, we all probably inentinoally have done things that we knew were wrong and did it anyway.

Today.  Well, I got up, went to a few places around here looking for tires, then to Napa to get my brakes for the big 4 wheeler I had ordered, over to Chili's to eat some  lunch, get a fresh haircut, of which I wasn't happy with even though I tried to get her to cut it the way I wanted it - and then back home to find the next door neighbor kid and his buddies wanting to "talk" to me.  It's always about the 4 wheeler.  The one that is drivable, not the one I have up on jacks waiting on U joints.  I'm not going to let them use that one anymore, I am fixing everything on it and it's mine to use and perhaps the landlords when we finally are able to go out on a riding adventure.  The one they are using now is much more geared for their liking.  Regardless, they were talking baseball of which I am very knowledgeable about and then we got into their world of already having had signed up for a league and starting soon.  Well show me what you got.  What do you know about it? Umm, I coached it for 10 years?  lol.  Ohh, really? Will you teach us?  They ran to the house, got all of their gear, came running back over and then after 2 seconds of watching them - realized they didn't have a clue.

Throwing, pitching, fielding, catching.  Didn't even see the bat swing, we never got that far. They were throwing the ball and trying to catch it to their side instead of getting in front of it. They were waiting for a popup to come down and then try to grab it from the ground instead of running to it and positioning themselves underneath the ball to catch it.  They were standing to the side of a grounder instead of getting in front of it and getting the glove down on the ground.

Y'all afraid of that ball.  NO WE AREN'T!!! Oh, yes, you are.  How do you figure Mr. Ben?  That's what they call me and I do like the respect part of it.  They aren't ghetto talking, foul language mouth filled trash talkers.  Very respectful and that part I can deal with.  You won't get in front of the ball, anytime it's coming at any of ya you move out of the way. Your coach, whoever you end up with, is not going to like that.  At all.  So i just started barking out orders as I used to in Little League since that's what they wanted and they started getting it.  Yeah, you're going to get hit with the ball here and there, that's part of the game, toughen up, deal with it, field or catch the ball, that's. that.  Encouragement was also offered, of course, and they immediately started improving and one of them admitted he "was" afraid but he "isn't" anymore.

Pitching mechanics were non-existent, but I didn't expect anything since they have never been trained.  I am half tempted to take them  out ot the nearest ballfield and start really dealing with them since they are serious about it and want to learn.  For it is a foregone conclusion they have no real batting skills and I have a very good eye and know how to teach batting mechanics.

But right now, it's all about this trip.  Mom "corrected" me on the hotel and that's fine. She decided I am going to drive her Tundra - pretty nice truck thank you very much. Last thing on the agenda is the shuttle to her house since I can eliminate the hotel now.  Well, that's enough for now.

Well, my trip to Phoenix coming up quick.  Leaving after work on Tuessday, coming home, getting my stuff which will already be packed and taking off to Dallas in my car, get there to pre-planned parking with pre-planned shuttle to airport, get to Dallas Love field and take off to Phoenix.  The flight doesn't take off until almost 11:00 pm, so the 3 hour drive there after work plus short stopover at home - for I want to see my doggy and give him a hug and say goodbye - should be easily doable.

I'm doing it that way to save on usage of vacation hours.  Plenty of other things I want to do this year and I don't want to use them all up on this particular visit.  I would like to plan a 4 day trip over there again later on this year which would include a holiday day so I only  use up one paid vacation or floating holiday - or personal day. Memorial Day would cover such a visit, but we'll see.

General manager coming up tomorrow, allegedly, instead of the Monday arrival date originally planned.  I just - have no great hopes for anything.  There isn't any reason to, they put everything off - intentionally I am quite sure - don't give answers and play the "we don't know yet" game.

I was in Monroe, LA today, attempting to get some pipe that was delivered to a jobsite - the city changed the specs and the pipe was rejected - tens of thousands of feet of it - still sitting there.  We come and get it from time to time as we can sell it, we have no responsibility to take all of that back and the pipe company would take it back, but at a great "restock" fee. Anyway, a very inexperienced backhoe operator attempting to pick up these pallets of 40 foot length pipe and put it on the truck. The problem - mud.  I have been around this kind of stuff for a long time, I can tell when a person hasn't been around the equipment they are operating very long.

He kept getting the backhoe stuck.  2 hours to load the truck.  I just sat there and watched it.  I offered suggestions - such as taking a completely different route with the pipe that would have eliminated getting stuck - but he was stubborn. I'm not going to argue with him, but he kept apologizing for how long it was taking.  Just before we were done - finally done - loading it his boss comes driving up - dude, what is taking you so long? I need that backhoe!  Seriously.  I could have loaded that pipe onto the truck in about 15 minutes.  But it's all good.  Take things as they come.  Enjoy as much of life as you can.  Slow right now, getting that run took up 2/3rd's of the day, this dude making it take longer than it should have? Just made it take that much longer to get back to the yard.

That's it.  I'm just trying to find cheap ground transportation from the airport to and from mom's house.  She will not drive into downtown Phoenix.  I very much like the fact that she knows her limitations - very congested in terms of traffic - and even though it will cause me more expense and time, I don't mind at all.  In fact, I will be arriving late and I figure to find a hotel this weekend with a shuttle that will get me close enough to her place and away from all of that congestion that she will be able to come and get me in the morning - or - I can take a bus.

Whatever the case, this will be the weekend just before Caleb leaves for New Zealand.  After that he is going to Hawaii and I just have no idea what the next opportunity might be that I could see him  - so - gotta make the effort. Mama ain't getting no younger either, this life is never predictable.

I'm not sure what I'm doing next with this life, but at least seeing loved ones is always a good idea.

It was a tough decision, actually, to take that 4 wheeler back.  But after time passed and I continue to think about it I came to the conclusion it was the right thing to do.  I had to go over all of that in my mind again after finding out she is going around all over the place trash talking about me and saying things that are just plain garbage.  But it's whatever.

She erroneously believes that I made my decision based on other nonsense she was saying about me before all of this current episode of antics started, which simply isn't true.  I had made up my mind, I just didn't want to contact her.  I don't want to talk to her in any format, whether Facebook messaging, text messaging, phone call whatever.

Getting the thing back and finding it had been rolled and the exhaust cut off was a bit much to take.  Reading her reaction - she couldn't have cared less, didn't bother her at all-- just sealed it.  The thing still runs great but now facing having to replace the exhaust system and likely the handlebars.

The folks here are all over it, let's get a trailer and haul them things out to the open country and go riding!Of course3, things here aren't all flowers and roses, either.  My "cleaning" activities are not going over well in a strange way.  Because - when I see a dirty kitchen, I pretty much just go and clean it  up.  I don't say anything, I don't complain about it, I don't make an issue out of it, I just clean it up and that's that.  So, I did that the other day and there was some backlash.  Apparently, the lady of the house was not happy that he, the man of the house, hadn't done it when he said he would.  I had thought he was going to do it but when I came home the next day and saw the same mess there, I just went and cleaned it all up and that was that.

I mean, it's like 15 minutes and it's done.  Nothing like the disaster going on over at Val's house where it can literally take and hour and a half to clean up the mess (of which she openly states she doesn't care about).  Well, then the mother in law got involved with it - all behind my back this was giong on of which I was totally unaware, and started trash talking about me because ... why?  I cleaned up a kitchen that her son hadn't?  Here's the thing: It doesn't bother me to clean up the kitchen.  I don't care who gets the credit or whatever, it just needs to be done, is there a problem with me doing it?  Apparently so.

Well, last night's mess is still out there and will be there when I get home today and yes, I likley will clean it all up and be done with it.

Oh well.  Time for work.

Just gonna have to write this, even though my interest in blogging is waning.  I am just not living a very eventful life in any way, shape or form right now, there really isn't much to write about.  My views on politics and religion I have been writing in various Facebook groups and other places on the internet as well. I have pretty much just reserved my blogging for things going on in my life or things that interest me and some knowledge I may be able to give.  For example, the dog antibiotics post I wrote on here years ago still gets several hits a day.  

But, anyway, I was able to finally go and get the 4 wheeler today.  That didn't actually happen til' around 3 this afternoon.  My co-worker was called into work this morning and had to drive clear to Monroe with some pipe and fittings for a contractor in need.  Well, I needed to get started on the 4 wheeler I already have.  I put it on jacks, removed a tire and went to work trying to remove the front drive shaft to replace the u joints.  I have never in my life encountered such a stubborn, irritating situation as what that thing confronted me with.  The next door neighbor kid helping me - he has been riding the thing and I pretty much told him he would either help me fix it or he can not ride it anymore. 

There is a roll pin that hold the front yoke in place.  I had to go buy a long punch to try and get it out - but the space in there is so limited that giving a good hard hit with a hammer on the top of the punch was next to impossible.  That kid and I spent hours on it - but I finally got the thing out of there.  In days of old when I had an acetylene torch, I would have had it out of there quick.  Just heat it up good and it would have come right out.  Next, a trip to Napa to try and get a new roll pin - I thought I was going to get the driveshaft off right away and start working on getting the old u-joints out and the new ones in.

But....after taking off the tire, I found the front brake pads completely worn down and the right side tie-rod was also bad.  Which reminds me, Napa neither had the tie-rod nor could order it, I need to find one online.  Excuse this entry while I go find and order one.....yes I know that meant nothing to the reader in terms of time lost, lol, but I did go and order a whole set for the right side.  If I'm going to replace one side of the rod, I might as well replace both and for only 4 bucks more, it's a done deal.

I get started on so many rabbit trails when I am writing posts.....I ordered new brakes pads from Napa and they will be here by next weekend.  But, though they had a large selection of roll pins, they didn't have the size I needed. No biggies, I will either just punch the old one back in or find another one somewhere else.  

Back to the Polaris Magnum 500, the 4 wheeler I was working on.  Yes, we got the pin out but getting the entire driveshaft assembly? Tried for a while but didn't get that thing off of there.  After 45 minutes of trying, that's when I found out I needed to hit the road and head over to Val's place  to get the 4 wheeler - he, my co-worker, was done with the delivery.  We went over there to find the 4 wheeler - had been rolled.  I am still wondering whether that was done intentional or not.  The handl bar is smashed down - but- everything still works.  So maybe an accident that was just never mentioned to anyone by Nathan, I dunno.  There was a bit of spiting going on out there as well.  A guitar I had bought Rachael for a birthday present was out there as well as the electric little 4 wheeler I had bought the girls for a Christmas present.  My shop vac was out there but nothing else I had asked for.  

And after the way she talked to me today in texting, I won't be asking for any of it.  In fact, I don't care if I ever hear from her again.  The idea that this woman was talking to another man before we got divorced.  There are instincts that have stirred within me that I won't speak about on here.  But I won't act on them, either.  Brought back thoughts of what I used to do to people in my teen years.  I just won't allow myself to succumb to such things but the forcefulness of the emotion that arises is hard to put down.  

Well, that is done.  I could post the things she said to me today- but it would get me going again and I don't need that.  I left the guitar there - they can break the thing into pieces and throw it into the trash for all I care, but I am not going to allow them to have that kind of "satisfaction". And what kind of mom would encourage a 10 year old girl to do such a thing?  I am going to eat the cost of ending the Dish Network over there early - 2 year contract that still has 4 months left on it.  $80 to turn it off. I think they own the equipment.  I dunno, these companies change their parameters all the time.  In fact, thanks for reminding me, blog, I am going to call tonight and shut the service off - tonight.  She is ingrateful, paranoid, hateful, vengeful and holds extreme grudges.  I cannot believe the things she said to me today.  

Done deal. Dish Network is no longer a monthly bill.  It is shut off over there and I couldn't care less. I just cannot believe this woman's vindictiveness.  Her utter anger.  Her hatred towards life and those that want to enjoy it.  Yes, I am very irritated right now.  I haven't talked to her in a while and it was just unbelievable her tones towards me.  I didn't start anything, I just said I was coming to get the 4 wheeler - which she knew was happening because we talked about it in advance -  and that started it off, that was texting, btw, I won't hold a conversation with her on the phone now.  

I'm trying to take deep breathes and get this out of my system. This is the last time I will ever talk to her.  The only thing left over there is my dog buried in the ground. 

Anyway, we went to a place here called inJapan.  It's allegedly great sushi - which I have never had but have been wanting to try and my co-worker brought it up.  So we went.  Unbelievably horrific service.  I mean, it was so bad.  But I said nothing about it - maybe this situation with Val was weighing on me, I thought, and I am just irritated with everything. Better to keep my mouth shut. But, my co-worker who is a totally laid back person finally said: Horrific service. This is terrible service.

Thank you! The service sucks! I could go into a few paragraphs worth, but one example was when the waitress came up and asked if we wanted more water. Well, who asks if you want more water? just bring it, but I didn't say that.  We both said yes and she acknowledged it.  When she came back, she brought him a fresh cup and brought me - nothing.  I got up and went to the bar to get another cup, I was feeling dehydrated and definitely very thirsty.  The food was good, I'll give it that.  

Back to the house - next door neighbor kid still out there trying to get that drive shaft off of there.  I was done with that, no thanks.  Try again tomorrow. He bets I won't get it off of there with a handshake.  Okee dokee, we'll see.  Well today, he insists.  No, I'll get that thing off of there, but I ain't doing nothing on that again today.  Yes, I will figure out how to get it off of there.  

Anyway, that was my day.  After spending most of the day outside and hearing some crazy noises from Addler - he was right on the other side of the fence from where we were working on the Polaris - I am done.  If my hands hadn't been covered with grease I would have gotten that stuff on video, comical. Regardless, Valerie has a way of making me feel very unhappy.  She puts me into such a bad mood.  I can't even fathom the dude that is with her or what he will eventually go through.  

Whatever.  

I'm going to stop blogging for a while.  Or just post random stuff that has nothing to do with my personal life.  

Or whatever.

So, I text her last night. Almost scary to do so for who knows what kind of reply one is going to get from a person like that.  She apparently wanted to get into a conversation, I did not, not after the last texting we had where she emphatically stated "I really don't want to get into any kind of conversation with you at all".  I have learned that she has a boyfriend and apparently had one long before we got divorced.  It wouldn't really bother me if she had one after the divorce, but before?  Just letting it go, though, I want nothing to do with her at all.  Just get the last thing back from her and lose her number.

Friday morning.  Leaving for work early.  Have to make a delivery near our yard - but then I have to head down to Sulphur to pick up a load of pipe and bring it back. That's going to take all day long.  So, I just want to be at the contractor's site this morning at or before they show up so I can get the stuff off of the truck and get headed south.  It's a long drive because the route there goes through numerous small towns with slow speed limits and lots of cops everywhere to make sure you aren't going over that in-town speed limit.  In fact, the last time I drove down there I saw dozens of cops along the way.

Going down I-49 doesn't work, it takes you too far out of the way.  Anyway, I get my other 4 wheeler back and get a hold of a trailer I can start taking them things out to a place that has trails and have some fun on them.  I have all kinds of parts to replace things on the big one, a project I am going to try to motivate myself to do this weekend.  Next door neighbor kid helping since he has been taking the thing with some friends to a property not far from here and riding it.

Anyway, nothing really new here.  I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, it is what it is.  I'm not really looking for drastic changes right now, though, excepting would like more opportunities at church.  I have some ideas, however, to do something on my own outside of the church.  I dunno yet but sitting around doing nothing isn't particularly appealing to me.  It gets boring.  I get bored of the internet, too. Especially those Facebook political groups.  I was participating in some of them but some of the people in those groups are absolutely - crazy.   There are people out there that just dont' have a clue.  Which is fine but then they come back at you and go into attack mode when you try to give a differing view of something.

Anyway, off to the races.  And off to Phoenix too, pretty soon, to see my son and my mom ; )

Caleb is flying off to New Zealand on the 29th. This means that if I want to see him before he leaves, I will have to fly over to Phoenix before then. 

Airfare purchased, flying over the week before he leaves.  Round trip $119.  Not bad, but the day of the departure will be interesting. Go to work, get off, drive home, say goodbye to dog and landlords, head to Dallas and fly off to Phoenix.  3 hours from work to Dallas plus the stop at home at 30 minutes.  I could stay home longer and visit, for the flight doesn't leave until 10:45 pm but I want to show up early for any possible problems. 

Besides, I like airports, airplanes and the whole atmosphere.  I am considering getting a passport, finding whatever flights I can to anywhere worldwide and making a trip here and there just to go.  Or even just flights around the country.  You can find some pretty low priced airfare to numerous places. But, a pickup truck and a trailer and my 4 wheelers up to the nearest high coutry is just as intriguing.  

Well, anyway, airfare taken care of, parking near airport including free shuttle also a done deal, landlords will take care of the Addler, I am now working on finding travel from airport to mom's house.  She will let me use one of her vehicles while there, but - she is not confident in heavy traffic.  I have to find my own way out to her.  Bus system isn't operating that late, a shuttle is likely my best option. I know a large number of people there but I don't want to ask anyone to come drive me out there at that late of an hour.  Hmm, I could post that on my Facebook wall and see if there are any bites - but I think mom will not be happy that she couldn't do it and has to see that there.  I think I will find my own way.

Anyway, mom's 80 years old and so, good idea to go visit. Still in pretty good health, things can change rapidly in life.  I am going to try to make it out there again sometime later this year to see her.  But take a whole week off.  I'm taking 3 days off work this time around, didn't want to spend too much vacation hours this early in the year.  My new manager is making a good attempt to change his old ways and I am still responding accordingly.  So, when I came to his office today to get that written into the giant calendar behind his desk, he stopped the vendor that was visiting and took the time to write it up there and was very amenable. The stories about him making threats and assaulting one of salesmen are true - but - he has changed his ways, at least apparently.  Time will tell, but I am not hoping for his failure, I am hoping for his success.  Yes, please do thrive in your new position. 

Please do not try to make my or anyone else's life miserable  Have a new outlook on life, it's not worth it to just look at everything jaded and find no pleasures in the basic things in life.  Please.  Try. Please.

I didn't say any of that to him, of course, but those are my thoughts.  He didn't try to oppose it, in fact, when he heard me talking about seeing my son before going to New Zealand he want into a thing a flight over there. Isn't that a long flight?  Well, yes, now that you say it, it is.  It was his way, I am guessing and hoping, of trying to bridge the gaps, be a nicer person and treat employees more like family than like - what? Your worst enemy?  Never figured that out.  

So I'm psyched anyway.  Just looking at my vacation hours though.  I want some time available for this summer.  That is providing I am even still working there this summer.  I am trying to remain optimistic on the matter.  Well I have ideas for summer. Like having a pickup truck and having means to transport at least one 4 wheeler to nearest mountains - which are allegedly in Arkansas - and taking a week camping adventure with the dog and a tent.  Alone or not alone, I don't really care.  I need the mountains.  I grew up in a mountainous area, moved to a desert at the age of 10. Took frequent trips to mountains at that age and then when I had a driver's license, took almost weekly trips up north into the mountains. It isn't something that just goes away.  

So, changing the subject, I show up to work this morning.  I didn't know what I was doing.  I never do.  I am handed tickets and that is that.  Go here, go there.  Well, I go about my business but come to a point where I need to get into the "shed" they call it.  It is not a shed.  It's a metal building approximately 80 feet by 50. That's a lot of square footage to call a building a shed, but, that's Louisiana.  No-one has opened the bay doors which I thought odd, but I needed to get in there to get the banding machine out - someone mishandled a bundle of pipe - which happens quite frequently there - and broke the banding that keeps it together.  I tried and tried my key to get in there.  It would partially turn but not open the door. The driver that is now not a driver because of his last truck crash said he had tried as well. Well, I thought, get some WD-40 and see what happens.

Nothing. Well, after half of everyone trying with their own keys, everyone gives up.  I did not.  The subject comes up about the hole at the top of the building in the back.  I did not bring up the subject, but I had thought about it  The warehouse dude says well a small man would have to get through there.  This all passes and I'm stuck.  Can't band the pipe, gotta get in there. I go around and look at that hole, it's up there alright and no way to get a forklift there to lift a person up. Well, I put a 2 foot tall fitting there which just got my hands on the edge of it.  I pulled myself up there -- and I ain't saying it was easy for I am not in the shape I was 20 years ago - grunted and pulled and etc got up through that hole, onto a high shelf inside the building, climbed down some poles and walaah.  There was a group of people trying to get in and here I am opening the main bay door. Warehouse manager looking at me in bewilderment.  How you get up there? I just climbed.

You know, it was a liberating moment. I can still do that stuff.  Not as easy as in days of "old" but I got up there without any help. Umm, well, you know when you get to a certain point it's a point-of-no-return thing.  You ain't going back down the way you came up, you are gonna fall and it isn't going to be pretty. Which gets adrenaline pumping which helps you out nicely, lololol.  

Well that's enough for now.  

Well ain't that just fancy.
New manager calls for a meeting yesterday morning - Monday mind you - at 7:30 am.  What came out of his mouth was totally unexpected.  We are going to be cutting back hours to 8 for everyone ..... blah blah blah.  I just listened for quite a while until he got to the: " If ANYONE has a PROBLEM with THIS, I want to know about it RIGHT NOW".  You see, my mind instantaneously went through a whole realm of things when he first started talking and making his announcement and I had already made all of my conclusions long before he was done with his monologue.

I spoke up instantly. Yeah, I have a problem with it.  Remember, this is the dictator that everyone is afraid of, that won't say much of anything to because of his reputation.  I could care less about his reputation and if he's going to treat me like a pile of dog****, I will find myself a new place of employment.  I simply said: so, you are cutting our pay?  This set him off.  Of course.  I don't care about that, either. He's talking cutting my pay by over a grand a month, I'm not going to keep silent.  I will fight for my pay until I either get it or am forced to move on.

He set off.  Well what do you want to do, Ben? OBVIOUSLY inferring that I should just quit and leave.  I'll have nothing to do with that at HIS intonations, I will talk to his management about this situation - as I already did anyway before he became manager - before I quit.  I didn't reply to him, I just looked him in the eye.  He then repeated 7 times "I don't want to argue with you", notwithstanding the fact that I was saying nothing to him.  I remained firm after all his attempts to intimidate me.  Once he started figuring out I wasn't bowing to him, he then attempted to try to talk to me on a "little bit" lower level. I simply told him I came out here taking a huge pay cut, the hours I have were compensation for it, it was agreed to, that's that.  Well, you have a 50 hour situation? No.  Do you have a contract? No.  I have a verbal agreement with Matthew (Matthew won't lie, he's a bonafide Christian and he will own up to whatever he said to me before I moved out here).  50 hours per week .

Not that I want to work 50 hours per week for 8 hours pay, but that's  what I agreed to so I could come out here, marry a woman that ....well we need not go there ....and that's that.  He toned down after I applied logic to his emotion - this individual is run by emotion.  At work, I am run by dollar signs.  If I am not going to make a minimum amount, goodbye.  Taking away 40 plus hours per month of OT is not going to work - at all.

So let's fast forward to todayI went into the "ex-manager's" office and got into a conversation with him about what this man had stated the day before.  He immediately said yeah, he didn't understand the situation with what you came over here in but we are going to have a conversation about that today.  Okay.  Fairly short conversation, I turned around and - tried to leave.  The new manager, I dunno if he was eavesdropping (and I don't care) came barreling around the corner, said to me and the other driver that showed up to go back into the office, we are going to have a conversation about what "he" said.  He being the other manager.

Then we had it out.  I'm not going to back down to some extremely self-centered, high-minded dictator who thinks the world of himself and in love with the sound of his own voice try to stand there and intimidate me, which is exactly what he tried  to do..  Several times he tried to stop me after asking me a question so that I would answer the way he wanted me to answer.  No, I would just come back and answer in my own word.

Well, he says, I'm sensing some friction here between us. No s*** Sherlock, I wonder why.  I was prepared to lose my job yesterday. I truly didn't care. They aren't paying me NEAR enough money to put up with that kind of garbage, an authoritarian who thinks he can just speak a word and we all come running and bowing.  Not my style, I don't @$$ kiss, just ain't going there.  We went back and forth, I wasn't holding anything back, I tried to keep any hint of anger or angst out of it, but it really came down to money and hours.  I'm not going to take a thousand dollar per month pay cut, period.

I'm not going into the details of his ridiculous words because it just isn't worth it.  I expressed myself quite nicely and now it is all in their hands.  Cut my hours, don't cut my hours, raise my pay, don't raise my pay.  They don't seem to act very fast about anything. This dude is the good ole' boy idealogy.  A lot of people there have been working together for 20, 25 years.  The "newbies" - which is me and the other driver, not including the new temporary driver, - are pretty much left out, likely not to get any favors excepting my old manager was pretty good to us and this feeling not likely to subside any time soon.

Well whatever. It's now Wednesday morning - time to be off to the wonder land of work!

I absent-mindedly put my debit card in a bag with stuff in it I got at a store and left it in there.  And threw it out.  And yes, it ended up in the landfill before I realized my mistake. Fortunately, Chase bank now has card makers at many of it's locations.  You need only go in, prove who you are and they make you a new debit card right then and there. Amazingly better than the "old" days of having to wait days for it to arrive in the mail and having to try and deal with daily life without it.  Meaning, go to the bank and carry cash around with you.

I don't much care to carry around cash, excepting maybe 20 bucks and that only because some places in Louisiana either don't take debit cards or you have to spend a minimum amount to use it.

Anyway, while I was at the bank, I was speaking with a very distinguished and very smartly dressed bank officer that was telling me all about the mountains around here, after we got into a discussion about it.  What mountains? I asked politely.  Well, Texas has mountains! You have to drive a good distance but they are here.  Better, though, she says, there are plenty of mountains in Arkansas with hiking and 4 wheeling trails and only 2 hours away. I'm going to check with online 4 wheeler clubs to find some suggestions/advice on that particular subject.

Meanwhile, my desire to take Addler to the large doggy park remain altered. It is shut down for repairs and there is no statement as to when they are going to reopen it.  Caddo State Park is 16 miles away and I am considering taking him there instead.  I don't know if there is anywhere where I can let him run free, though and it is a risky proposition.  I have never let him do that and I don't know if he'll take off or come back when I call him?  I've had other Danes take off on me in the past and trust me, it's no picnic trying to catch up with them.  In fact, you don't catch up with them until they get distracted and stop running and start sniffing.

Monday marks the day of the new manager taking over.  So far, I remain unimpressed.  He's a helicopter hovinering, micro-managing mess.  But, who knows.  Maybe he will surprise all of us. The real trouble maker now is the warehouse manager, but apparently he's being put in his place.  Who knows.  The man is an antique that needs to retire and do something fun with his life besides coming to work and being miserable all day long.

Anyway, I got back to the yard yesterday around 3:45 pm.  Long day of driving.  I was informed there was a run to a town about 60 minute drive and I needed to take it.  No biggies, I wanted some OT anyway.  Well, more OT than I have been getting.  I'm trying to save up some emergency funds here. Anyway, it took forever.  Get the truck loaded, trying to get a hold of the contractor, going to a vendor to get more of  the product - we didn't have enough - getting down there, getting unloaded, getting back.  It was 7:45.  Well, I'm driving home - I mean I am 3 miles from the house when I get a call.  Where are you right now? My manager, a water main break in a town and they have to have materials to fix it, houses with no running water.  Ummm, I'm almost home.  Back and forth I just offered to go back if he couldn't find anyone else.  Well, 30 seconds - literally 30 seconds - later he calls me and asks if I will?  To make some points, I got back on the Interstate, drove all the way back, spent 30 minutes getting the customer what he needed and then drove all the way back to the house.  It was around 10:00 pm by the time I got home from work, put in a 15 hour day and was totally exhausted.

Went to church today - which was good and then helped set up for a women's meeting that is going to happen today at 6.  I then finally remembered about the doggy park and it turns out it is directly across the street/loop from the church.  They have a small dog enclosure - which is very small, not even worth taking a dog into - and then there's the large dog enclosre.  It's HUGE.  I mean, a dog could run wild and free in that place.  My goal was to find out what hours it's opened and closed - no sign at all saying that.  Instead, there was a sign saying it's closed for fence repairs.

Well, the gates weren't locked up, I could have gone in there if I had wanted to.  But, I didn't have Addler with me and I just wanted to check it out before heading home.  Iwill definitely be taking him there sometine in the future - though realistically that's a Saturday or Sunday thing considering a 35 minute drive each way.  Addler gets plenty of exercise in the back yard running all over  the place with the other dogs and on walks - though I haven't been walking him since I got sick.  I'm still coughing all over the place and I won't do any kind of strenuous activity that I don't have to until it's gone.

Valerie - on a different note - was complaining to my landlady about my decision to take my other 4 wheeler back. Did you say anything to him about what I said?  No, the landlady said.  Well I heard some of it, actually, but I had already made my decision long before that, I just was having trouble really solidifying that decision in my mind. The thing that made me go ahead and finally say it  is time.  A lot of time has passed since we have been divorced and I didn't want to  let it go on forever.  As for her statements about me - all complete lies or volumous exaggerations - I am looking into seeing what the early termination fee is for getting the Dish Network shut off  over there.  It should be getting down there by now as there is only 6 months left on the contract.  I would like to get out of it, get their equipment out of her house and back to them and wash my hands of it.

Work. Friday was the bi-annual physical inventory.  Meaning counting everything on the property which is no smalll undertaking.  We got it all done on Friday and then came back Saturday to do second and third counts.  Stuff that is showing we have in the system but is missing.  Which is always a lot there because of their  poor accounting practices, something I noticed the day I started working there.  But, I am not responsible for having to rectify all of that at inventory time and I have nothing to do with the bad practices that lead to it, so I don't care one way or the other.

The new manager starts tomorrow.  The man seems to be going out  of his way to come across as something different than what his reputation - truthful reputation - has him pegged as.  We''ll see.  That's all I'm saying about it right now, I'll see.

Caleb is back in Phoenix.  He announced on FB that he is going to New Zealand in a month.  Well that wasn't shocking, but idea that he isn't really communicating with me is a bit disturbing.  I just came out and asked him if there is a problem? Nope, he says, just trying to raise money to get to New Zealand with some obvious hints that he would like dear old dad to help out. He has $700 of it, he needs about $400 more for the airfare.  I might help him out with $100 or so, but I think if God is really in it, then he needs to have some faith in God that He will supply the need.  I'm trying to determine a date to go back and visit mom and see Caleb before he leaves.  I really need a definitive leave date so I can make plans. Seems the further out  you try to get airfare, the better deals you can find.

Life at the house I'm living in is going pretty well, actually. Addler is slowly coming around.  What I mean by that is he is starting to act like a Great Dane more and more.  He was lacking in many attributes of Danes when I first got him - which doesn't mean I wouldn't want him if he didn't start showing them - but he wasn't a house dog at all and I conclude that to be the reason.  Yesterday, I woke him up out of an apparent deep sleep and he growled  at me, but he immediately put his ears down, jumped out of bed and came over and put his head on my legs.  As if to say I'm sorry! Lol, apology accepted.  He is doing much better around the baby as well. No growling there at all now.  I still don't want him around the boy unsupervised and neither do my landlords.  They DO trust him around the kid, but it's the potential for accidental injury that is  of concern for all of us.

I was going to try to mostly take it easy this weekend and try to get  past this sickness, but work brought me in for 3 hours yesterday and church took about 3 hours today as well.  I would have left work after 2 hours, but I was informed that a contractor wanted their materials early on Monday and that I would need to load the truck on Saturday.  And church - I helped set up for the lady's meeting so time spent there went on much longer than normal.  I'm taking it easy now, but it's already 3:35.  I don't really feel like I've gotten much rest this weekend and I am intent on watching the NFL games today, one of which is in progress right now.  Broncos - v - Patriots.  I hope the Patriots win only because the Broncos beat the Steelers last week putting us out of the playoffs.  It's a close game right now.

I'm keeping my eyes open for any companies that have need for CDL drivers that are local runs, home every night, no or little weekend work and good benefits.  No desperation here, just looking.  No applications put in, either.  I don't think there are many like that out there and I don't know where the economy is headed.  The Dow tanked quite a lot this week and my 401k went down a couple of thousand, but it must have made some kind of comeback because mine came back up a grand.  If there's one good reason I want more money it's my retirement.  I'm putting in around $700 per month but it's not enough.  I'm too far behind and I have a lot of catching up to do. I would like to be able to double that if I could.  I also need to be able to save cash for emergencies.  I depleted my savings account back down to $100 and it's going to take time to get it back up again.  I need reserves in case something goes wrong at the house, something goes wrong with the car, dog or me.  I wouldn't mind getting another vehicle as well.  401k loan is almost paid off, I will at least have access to money when it is - only takes a few days to get a check - but I would rather not touch it again if I can avoid it.

Enough for now. Halftime and I am sleepy. Nap time.

Well isn't that fancy.  She ignored 2 emails and then blocked me on the third one.  Thank you AOL for sending me a rejected email delivery telling me exactly why it was rejected - she had my email sent to spam.  That was 15 minutes ago.  I immediately sent her a text message. Either agree to me coming and getting my 4 wheeler or I will file a motion in the divorce court - for the 4 wheeler is specifically stated as my property in the paperwork - and you can explain to a judge why you are refusing to give my property back.

Well isn't that sweet. She wrote back a - nasty for her - version of a text.  So, I went further with it. My shop vac, pellet rifle, battery charger, missing pair of roller blades, drain snake and a $100 check she gave me which I didn't cash because she was broke when she took charge over the phone I bought for Nathan.  Really, if she wants to get nasty, I can go there for I am not happy about a lot of things, but I can deal with it. The idea, though, that she would completely ignore my emails about my 4 wheeler was crossing the line.

Let's dance. After hearing what she has said to my landlady, what she said to me in that text message was completey false.  But it's whatever. Just give me my 4 wheeler back - wouldn't mind my battery charger too since 4 wheelers sometimes have dead batteries - but it's whatever.

Getting a bit fired up. All she had to do was agree to my getting the 4 wheeler, instead, she chose to ignore 2 emails and then spam block me on the one today.  This is childishness, but not unexpected from her.

Well, I've got lung congestion and I have no idea whether I will go to work tomorrow or not.  I do know that I have the truck loaded with pipe, I pulled the fittings for the order on Friday but didn't get them shrink wrapped.  It was past 5 pm and I just wanted to get the pulling stuff over with for Monday morning.  I'll see about whether I am going to work or not in the morning, but at this point, as crappy as I'm feeling, I'm still thinking I am going to go.

I thinkI accidentally deleted an entry while I was fooling around with trying to get the Great Dane entry right.  Oh well!

I have been thinking about this one for a while now and finally decided that I did enough for her and their family, I want my ATV back.  So, I wrote her a one line message politely asking her for it back.  No reply, so the next day I wrote her a 3 sentence paragraph - still polite- but getting a little more firm.  It doesn't belong to her, she has no legal claim to it, it's written right into the divorce orders as my property before we got married.

But, once I brought that up to my landlady she went off.  Valerie's been in 3 times this week and I have been trying to avoid her at all costs!  In where she works, that is. Val has an account there that she has been trying to finish off and get over with.  Well what's up?....I don't bring her name up around here anymore as I have put her out of my head and heart and am moving forward.  Well, she says Ben this and Ben that and all this about you all the time.  Really? lol, I had to laugh because she apparently thinks all of that is going to get back to me and then I'm going to what - get mad or something? She divorced me, it's over, I don't care anymore, I realy don't.

She had started hanging with her ex husband before we officially got divorced anyway.  Did I get mad about that? No.  I asked her about it, but that was all.  Her description of their interaction was likely false, but again, I don't care.  In fact, I actually told her, now that I think about it, that if she was really seeking God's will, she really had no good reason to divorce him in the first place.  The dude really seems pretty cool. I guess he doesn't always treat the kids right, but from what I have seen and heard, he has tempered that down quite a lot since they got divorced.  He makes 135k per year at a very kick back job that entails doing nothing more than watching computer screens and making sure the plant is running smoothly.  From a financial standpoint, she would do herself well to get back with him.  However, she is the endless victim - she has literally been victimized by everyone she has ever met including her own children and her best friends.

That is NO exaggeration, either.  I have literally sat there and listened to her complaining and going on about every single person that was ever important to her.

Whatever the case, I think I said in a pervious post that I have temporarily stopped looking for a lady, but in case that was the entry I deleted, saying it again.  It is just too much energy and time spent sending endless messages and getting much of nothing back. Many of these people have these accounts on these dating sites and they never check their messages.  I know because I had a premium membership to POF and it shows whether they've even been online, much less if they've actually seen or read the message.  I am in no hurry to make the same mistake as this last catastrophe.  I don't need another suicidal person, such as the lady that was over here 2 weekends ago who showed great interest in me - but - kept going off about how life sucked and how suicidal she is and if she didn't have a young daugher, she would have offed herself a long time ago.

I can sympathize with such people, I can talk to them about it, but having another relationship with a suicidal person? No thanks.  Everything is bad, according to them, there is nothing good in life.

Anyway, I have come down yet again with another reespiratory illness and it isn't pleasant.  I put off doing much of anything yesterday and today will be a nothing day as well excepting to watch the Steelers hopefully beat the Denver Broncos.  Not sure about that one, the Broncos are a force to be reckoned with this year and that should be an interesting game to watch.  One of our key players is out for injury - and that from a player that hit him hard after the fact.  I do hope they fined that idiot.

Anyway, my landlady bought a car just before I moved in here - getting rid of her pickup - and now decided she doesn't like the car and is getting another pickup. I can understand totally.  I really want out of my car and back into a pickup truck, but.....a decent truck is expensive, my car won't get much in trade in value and the payments will be high and likely 5 years.  I thought about taking out a 401k loan and getting a vehicle through that method, but then I hurt my retirement by taking out money that otherwise could be earning interest and dividends.

Of course, as time plows forward, more economists are jumping on the recession bandwagon saying it isn't if, it's when and likely worse than what occurred in 2008.  I'm really trying to hold out buying another vehicle, but I am severely limited by not having a pickup.  Hauling things to the house, hauling my 4 wheelers to an area where you can ride and ride and not worry about neighbors calling the police (which I don't do anyway, not worth the risk).  I've given some consideration to putting a hitch on my car but that's expensive because not only do you have to install a hitch, you really have to also beef up the rear suspension with airbags or extra springs.  For an old car, I don't know that the expense would be worth it.  So, I just sit here and contemplate it, but at the moment, doing nothing about it because it's truly wonderful not having those monthly payments and much higher insurance premiums.

Work is unchanged. We are being warned of a "firestorm" coming when the new manager takes over the beginning of February.  I will not stick around for an abusive manager.  I'll file a complaint with corporate if it is really as bad as several that know the man say it's going to be and if that gets nowhere, I'll be forced to start looking for new employment.  Some contractors who have known him for over 20 years love him and some of them say he's a total jerk.  I've given up on the raise, we obviously aren't going to get it.  That's another bridge I need to cross.  Stay or look for a new job? I've been looking.  There area several opportunities out there, but, you start at the bottom of the totem pole and have to work your way back up in terms of benefits such as vacation time.  It's a tough decision.  I'm putting it off to see what this new manager is going to be like.  He could be the tipping point to just say the heck with this, time to move on.   Just that I'm 51 years old and starting over at a new company isn't all that hot of a prospect for me. The only other thing I can do is go back to school - but - that costs money and though I would love to be doing something else, it would take at least 2 years to get a bachelor's degree.  It is an intriguing thought, though, one that I have also seriously considered, but then again, I have no idea what I would want to actually do.

Well that's enough for one entry. : )